The present invention relates to systems and methods for supplying data and information to a mobile platform, such as an aircraft, from a base station, and more particularly to a system and method for determining which specific types of data and/or information are required of each one of a number of mobile platforms in communication with the base station.
In a communication system in which various forms of data and/or information need to be supplied to a plurality of mobile platforms, in real time, where each mobile platform only receives predetermined, specific types of data and/or information, it is necessary to provide some form of system and/or method for enabling the base station to determine exactly what type of data and/or information needs to be supplied to each mobile platform which is communicating with it. For example, assuming the mobile platforms are commercial aircraft operated by commercial airlines, then the airline may determine that a particular aircraft should only receive advertising content. Alternatively, the airline may determine that movies or other digital media is to be provided to the aircraft. Accordingly, the data/content requirements will vary from aircraft to aircraft depending upon what content has been selected by the airline operating the aircraft.
Another factor that needs to be considered is the xe2x80x9cquality of servicexe2x80x9d that needs to be provided to each mobile platform in communication with the base station. For example, it may be determined that certain types of data and/or information are essential to the aircraft""s operation. Alternatively, it may be predetermined that other types of content, such as full length feature movies, do not represent high priority data content. Thus, each aircraft may be designated to receive one or more different types of data content having different levels of importance. It is therefore necessary for a communication system to be able to determine what level of xe2x80x9cquality of servicexe2x80x9d needs to be applied to each specific form of data content being transmitted to the aircraft such that data content considered to be essential to aircraft operation is given priority and additional efforts, if needed, are used to deliver the more important data content to the aircraft.
Still further factors that need to be considered are:
what mobile platforms require what types of data content (i.e., web content, movies, stock data, e-commerce, software updates, etc.);
the size of that data to be delivered to each mobile platform or group of mobile platforms currently being serviced;
the priority of that data to be delivered to each mobile platform or group of mobile platforms currently being serviced;
the urgency of the data to be delivered to each mobile platform or group of mobile platforms currently being serviced; and
what data has already been delivered to each mobile platform or group of mobile platforms.
Each category of data needs to be collected and summarized for scheduling the delivering of data to mobile platforms simultaneously, at one time, or to a single mobile platform.
Therefore, it is a principal object of the present invention to provide a system and method for managing the data content and information supplied to a number of mobile platforms operating within a given coverage region, where all of the mobile platforms are in communication with a base station, and where each mobile platform requires different forms of data content, as well as potentially different levels of quality of service to be used in supplying the information content to it.
It is a further object of the present invention to provide such a system and method as described immediately above, and further wherein the system and method monitors the availability of each mobile platform to determine immediately when each mobile platform is xe2x80x9con linexe2x80x9d and ready to receive its data content.
The above and other objects are provided by a mobile platform real time availability and content scheduling system and method in accordance with preferred embodiments of the present invention. The system and method, in one preferred form, makes use of information provided by an operator of a mobile platform, for example, a commercial airline, as to what specific types of data/information content is to be supplied to a particular mobile platform by a base station of the system. This information also includes a xe2x80x9cquality of servicexe2x80x9d designation which indicates to the base station the level of importance being attached to the content. A data center of the base station collects this information from the operators of each mobile platform that will be receiving content from the base station.
The system and method also includes a link management system which provides information to the data center of the base station as to which mobile platforms are currently available to receive content. From this, the data center of the base station determines which types of content are to be transmitted to each specific mobile platform, together with the level of quality of service to be applied to the content transmitted to each mobile platform.
The system and method of the present invention thus manages the transmission of specific types of data content to each mobile platform in accordance with a specific level of quality of service requested by each mobile platform.
Further areas of applicability of the present invention will become apparent from the detailed description provided hereinafter. It should be understood that the detailed description and specific examples, while indicating the preferred embodiment of the invention, are intended for purposes of illustration only and are not intended to limit the scope of the invention.